From: "Alice K. Turner"
Subject: Re: (urth) TAD - small, scattered thoughts
Date: Fri, 7 Feb 2003 21:22:28 -0500
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Another useful way to look at it is as a take on the Nixon White House, =
set in a decade that is probably the defining era of serious feminism =
(history makes strange bedfellows). The conceit is to merge this with =
Kafka's -Castle-. Whether this conceit is successful or not will depend =
on you, the reader. Me, I think not, but will not argue. Anyway, it's =
pretty clear that Kafka's Klamm is meant to be Kissinger here, North is =
an amalgam of Ollie North and the rest of the Watergate crew. Etc.
-alga
----- Original Message -----=20
From: Andrew Bollen=20
To: urth@urth.net=20
Sent: Friday, February 07, 2003 12:47 AM
Subject: (urth) TAD - small, scattered thoughts
So I just finished reading TAD. There's the obvious hints at =
Tammuz/Attis/Osiris/Adonis (Green & all the other Billies) and =
Inanna/Cybele/Isis/Astarte (Lara). But as always, Wolfe's uses =
mythological themes & fragments for his own story, putting them together =
in different ways, rather than indulge in some boring reductionist =
retelling of the original.=20
I read it as using the dying/resurrected god theme, but specifically =
the period between death & resurrection - metaphorically, Green's foggy =
half-life, like Tammuz in the underworld, with Lara/Innanna drawing him =
out. A bit like Eliot - Prufrock and partciularly The Wasteland - with =
similar linkages between the blighting of the world with the death of =
Tammuz etc & (Eliot & Wolfe's perception of) the wasteland of modern =
existence.=20
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Another useful way to look at it is as =
a take on=20
the Nixon White House, set in a decade that is probably the =
defining=20
era of serious feminism (history makes strange bedfellows). The =
conceit is=20
to merge this with Kafka's -Castle-. Whether this conceit is =
successful or=20
not will depend on you, the reader. Me, I think not, but will not argue. =
Anyway,=20
it's pretty clear that Kafka's Klamm is meant to be Kissinger here, =
North is an=20
amalgam of Ollie North and the rest of the Watergate crew. =
Etc.

So I just finished reading =
TAD. There's the=20
obvious hints at Tammuz/Attis/Osiris/Adonis (Green & all the =
other=20
Billies) and Inanna/Cybele/Isis/Astarte (Lara). But as always, Wolfe's =
uses mythological themes & fragments for his own story, =
putting them=20
together in different ways, rather than indulge in some boring=20
reductionist retelling of the original.

I read it as using the =
dying/resurrected god=20
theme, but specifically the period between death & =
resurrection=20
- metaphorically, Green's foggy half-life, like Tammuz in the =
underworld, with=20
Lara/Innanna drawing him out. A bit like Eliot - Prufrock =
and=20
partciularly The Wasteland - with similar linkages between the =
blighting=20
of the world with the death of Tammuz etc & (Eliot & Wolfe's=20
perception of) the wasteland of modern existence.